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I would argue we are past that point. And for those arguing that it doesn't impact wages...that's only if you have NO unemployment. This idiot seems to think that that is the case. Its nice to use the supply and demand idea, but that's not optimal when there's a secondary component. IE unemployment.

And on the high end, I can absolutely guarantee that adding more immigrants affects wages. software engineering for example doesn't suddenly grow in demand when more people are added. Once someone has written software, there's no real difference between 1 and 100 people using it to make their ATM deposits.

So yeah, its sounds nice and out of a textbook, it also ignores reality. The thing about it is...its almost right. Sure adding in 100 people creates 95 jobs......its that 5 job part that's painful.

Place of birth has all the economic significance of being left-handed. About 10% of the population id left-handed, and about 13% is foreign-born. Both groups are integral parts of the US economy, as can easily be seen by anyone but a bigot.

i don't know many american's who deliver Chinese food on a bicycle in the dead of winter. there are so many jobs that american's do not want to do themselves.

As though delivering Chinese food by bicycle in the dead of winter is a job that desperately needs to be filled at minimum wage or less.

It amazes me when people profess to love freedom in the markets, but any time workers gain a natural advantage of some sort (ie ****ty job = higher pay) the solution isn't to increase pay to the market wage, but rather to import people who will work for slave wages in slave conditions.

I would argue we are past that point. And for those arguing that it doesn't impact wages...that's only if you have NO unemployment. This idiot seems to think that that is the case. Its nice to use the supply and demand idea, but that's not optimal when there's a secondary component. IE unemployment.

And on the high end, I can absolutely guarantee that adding more immigrants affects wages. software engineering for example doesn't suddenly grow in demand when more people are added. Once someone has written software, there's no real difference between 1 and 100 people using it to make their ATM deposits.

So yeah, its sounds nice and out of a textbook, it also ignores reality. The thing about it is...its almost right. Sure adding in 100 people creates 95 jobs......its that 5 job part that's painful.

The software industry is one of many industries. The objection is consumer welfare, not employee welfare. An economy prospers on the basis of productivity, not what workers make. I know. It's hard for us to accept it, but it's true.

And what happens when you import a bunch of low-skill poor people who don't know english. Productivity declines. Why? Because cheap labor *decreases* the incentive to invest in labor saving tech and equipment. The guy above delivering food by bicycle is a good example.

If the imported workers were *higher* in skill and education than the median in the country, then you would expect a beneficial influence on the economy.

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